I would not be in the right mind if I did not include some music in this research. After confronting yet another terrifying list of songs portraying mental health, I chose to go old-school and ended up with Help by The Beatles.
The main reason I chose this song is simple: it is one of the bravest pop songs ever created. Let me elaborate.
In 1965, The Beatles had taken the world at large; they had started a cultural phenomenon to last for decades. However, the life of a pop star is not always so pretty. And for John Lennon, the state of severe depression developed into writing this masterpiece. In a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, John Lennon, who wrote most of the song, said: “When Help! came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song.” He added: “I really was crying out for help. So, it was my fat Elvis period.”
This brutally honest song was not another catchy pop single, it was the cry of a damaged young man asking desperately for help. “It was just me singing ‘Help’ and I meant it.”
The reason why I think this song is worth including in the research is that despite how self-reliant people can become, and how deeply feelings can hide, the one thing we can hold on to, is each other. Because being completely vulnerable and being in need, is the perhaps the most human thing to be.